Toward the end of last year I was drawing up my 2022 work schedule and I made sure to give myself a two-week break in September so that Tim and I could go on a nice holiday to celebrate our 20th anniversary. We spent the next 8 months dithering over where to go, and eventually settled on the Lake District as it ticks all the boxes: accessible by train (in less than five hours, our estimate at the dog’s maximum patience); dog-friendly accommodation; mountains; bike hire; at least one pub, shop and cafe within a mile. We didn’t think these were grand demands but they narrowed the search a lot.

We were very happy with where we ended up – a holiday cottage in Staveley, a village halfway between Kendal and Windermere. We rented bikes for a week, giving us car-free means of getting about and Beckett vastly increased her time spent in the doggy backpack. But she also got a lot of walking (and running alongside our bikes on the two days we were cycling in suitable off-road places) and was very tired every day so we think she appreciated being carried sometimes!

We climbed fells (and Tim tackled some full-size mountains), cycled around lakes and country lanes, ate at dog-friendly cafes (I think all cafes might be dog-friendly in the Lake District?) and remarkably had only one rainy day of playing board games. That’s pretty good going for September in Cumbria. My legs were very tired by the time we returned the hire bikes and I was quite happy to rely on trains and boats for our last two days’ transport.

In 12 days we didn’t exhaust even the stuff we wanted to do and could have done within the accessible radius that we had, let alone all the delights that lie further afield. We clearly need to go back to the Lakes sometime. Also, we won a prize in the local pub quiz on our last night – a voucher to spend on food at that pub only, so apparently we have to go back within 12 months.

Beckett was a star for the train journeys. On the way home, our last train was hugely overcrowded and we had to stand in the aisle for 45 minutes. Beckett just lay down on the floor at our feet – except every time someone decided to squeeze past us when I picked her up so she didn’t get stepped on and she just snuggled against me and had everyone around us oohing at her cuteness. It gave us something to chat to strangers about.

I’m glad we’ve managed to return to our old pattern of car-free holidays, even with added dog. She adds complications but it’s nice to have our whole family together on holiday.